Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-05872

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether adopting Passivhaus standards for newbuild housing would have a positive impact on reducing (a) domestic energy bills and (b) greenhouse gas emissions.

New homes built to a standard which delivers lower energy demand and emissions than are achieved under current regulations would have a positive impact on reducing both domestic energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.

Accordingly, consideration of the performance and processes of Passivhaus and similar standards remains a topic within the ongoing review of Scottish building regulations. We intend to publish revised standards in April, which will apply from October this year. Discussion on further change beyond 2022 will also continue.

Question reference: S6W-05877

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ash Regan on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how many FTE staff have been employed in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in each of the last 14 years.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) came into being as a national service on 1 April 2013. In its first year of operation (2013-14) employment statistics were collated by the Scottish Government and in that year SFRS had 7690 FTE employees at 31 March 2014. For reporting year 2014-15 and onwards, SFRS has been responsible for producing these statistics and employment figures are published annually on the SFRS website www.firescotland.gov.uk as part of its Organisational Statistics.

Prior to 2013-14 fire and rescue services were provided by the 8 regional fire and rescue services which formed part of local government. Statistics on the number of employees in these services is not held centrally.

Question reference: S6W-05873

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Patrick Harvie on 2 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether adopting Passivhaus standards for newbuild housing would make a positive contribution to achieving Scotland's climate targets.

New homes built to a standard which results in lower energy demand and emissions than are achieved under current regulations would make a positive contribution to achieving Scotland's climate targets.

Accordingly, consideration of the performance and processes of Passivhaus and similar standards remains a topic within the ongoing review of Scottish building regulations. We intend to publish revised standards in April, which will apply from October this year. Discussion on further change beyond 2022 will also continue.

Question reference: S6W-05874

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on legislation to provide a statutory right to food.

In the 2021-22 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government committed to the introduction of a Human Rights Bill within this Parliamentary session.

The Human Rights Bill will incorporate into Scots law, as far as possible within devolved competence, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This includes a right to adequate food, as an essential part of the overall right to an adequate standard of living.

Question reference: S6W-05875

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what information it has on how many people in Scotland have been food insecure in each of the last 14 years.

In Scotland, food insecurity questions were introduced into the Scottish Health Survey (SHeS) from 2016. As of 2019, food security levels are measured for the whole of the UK, including Scotland, as part of the Family Resources Survey (FRS).

Despite differences in approach between the surveys, food insecurity levels in Scotland have been consistent since data collection started in 2016; around 8% or 9% of individuals, and 8% of households.

Food Insecurity Rates in Scotland:

	2017	2018	2019	2020
Scottish Health Survey ‎ (% individual respondents)	8	9	9	8
Family Resources Survey ‎ (% households)	n/a	n/a	8

1. Data for FRS collected April 2019-March 2020

2. SHeS data from 2020 not directly comparable to previous years due to COVID-19 restrictions

Question reference: S6W-05443

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 1 February 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported comments from the Mayor of Tees Valley that investors are choosing regions of England over Scotland for industrial investments due to Scotland not having a freeport policy or freeport status.

The Scottish Government has always been consistent in wanting to deliver a green port model which has a strong focus on a just transition to net zero and fair work. We have been in active discussion with UK Ministers on a joint approach that will deliver these, as well as a full package of reserved and devolved incentives to Scottish ports.

It is often the case that investors consider a number of locations before making a final decision on where to invest. Scotland continues to have a great track record in attracting inward investment. The EY Annual Attractiveness Survey for 2021 identified that Scotland has been the top performing region or nation of the UK, outside of London, for 8 out of the last 10 years and for the sixth year running.

Question reference: S6W-05444

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 January 2022
Current Status: Answered by Angus Robertson on 25 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what economic impact assessment it has undertaken on the effect of Brexit on Scottish businesses and jobs.

The Scottish Government continues to closely monitor the impact of Brexit on businesses, jobs and the wider economy.

The latest Business Impact and Conditions (BICS) survey for December shows that Brexit is having a visible impact on Scottish businesses, with 49% of all manufacturing businesses reporting higher costs due to increased paperwork and 57% facing higher transportation costs.

Early trade statistics indicate that Scottish trade with the EU in 2021 was 24% lower compared to 2019 levels. New customs regulations from the 1st January 2021 are likely to further increase barriers for Scottish businesses importing from the EU.

The latest BICS survey also indicates that Brexit has exacerbated the current labour market shortages as Scottish businesses struggle to hire workers from the EU. In manufacturing and the accommodation and food sectors around 25% of businesses with unfilled vacancies cite a reduced number of EU applicants as a cause of difficulties in hiring.

In the long run, forecasts by the Office of Budgetary Responsibility indicate that Brexit will be more detrimental to the UK’s productivity than the pandemic, causing an estimated 4% fall in productivity compared to 2% for the pandemic.

Question reference: S6O-00597

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 January 2022

To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the UK Government to discuss the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and what the outcome was.

Question reference: S6T-00382

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 20 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 21 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address any workforce issues in social care, in light of comments from the Chief Executive of Scottish Care that the social care sector is facing the biggest workforce crisis it has ever experienced.

Question reference: S6O-00577

Asked by: Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 22 December 2021

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage uptake of science subjects by secondary school pupils.

Chamber and committees